WHO'S WHO


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Email heavymetal@stuff.co.nz to get in touch with the Heavy Metal team.

Stuff's podcast Heavy Metal explores the murder of Christchurch scrap dealer John Reynolds two decades ago. Here, in this interactive feature series, we delve further into his story.

Written and researched by Martin van Beynen and Blair Ensor.

An opportunist, an angry scrap metal supplier, a gang member, someone from his murky past.

The potential culprits for the murder of John Thomas Reynolds, 55, on April 28, 1996 were many and varied.

Head of the inquiry, Detective Inspector John Doyle, now retired, says the police had to carefully work through a list of candidates, ruling some out and marking others for further inquiry.

He says the most promising early lead turned out to be a dead end.

Two delinquent boys, Toa Waihape, 15, and Corey Stephenson, 11, who both lived in a boys home, went out on the town for a day of fun on the day Reynolds was killed.

Waihape, who has a cleft palate, came from a highly dysfunctional family. His brother Peter would murder a prostitute in Christchurch in 2005.

Corey Stephenson did not go on to better things and is currently in jail on unrelated offences.

About 1.15pm the boys noticed Reynolds' small truck in Hazeldean Rd with the keys in the ignition. By then Reynolds had probably already been killed.

They drove off in the truck leaving it in Hoon Hay, where it was found about 5.30pm the same day.

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They were the most obvious suspects but were eventually eliminated.

The police devoted most of their energy to two possible culprits.

One was an unemployed man called Ben Johnson.

Johnson, now deceased, was a 41-year-old father-of-five who was struggling to make ends meet.

He scrounged scrap for extra income.

He had connections to, but was not a member of, Black Power and had been in jail for a bank robbery.

He told his son, David Honetana, he was at home smoking cannabis when Reynolds was killed.

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The main person of interest was Kent Gorrie.

Gorrie had been in trouble with the police since he was 13 and by the time Reynolds was killed had a long criminal record.

He was an intravenous drug user and supplied scrap to Reynolds whom he regarded as a "mate". Violent incidents have cost Gorrie part of an ear and an eye.

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Others who feature in Heavy Metal include:

Michael Reynolds

Michael was Reynolds' younger brother who had his workshop next door to Reynolds’ yard. They were good mates and spent two years working together in Australia. Michael helped his brother buy the factory unit out of which he operated.

Russell Baynton

Baynton supplemented his benefit by collecting scrap and once worked part-time for Reynolds. He was an alcoholic and heavy smoker. He knew Reynolds well and they often joked about some of Reynolds’ tricks.

Nigel Harrison

Harrison was almost like family to Reynolds. They spent a lot of time together digging for antique bottles and going to antique bottle fairs. Harrison was as close to a confidante as Reynolds had.

John Doyle

Doyle was the detective inspector who headed the inquiry into the murder. He spent 35 years in the police and worked on about 20 murder investigations. He is now semi-retired.

Susan (not her real name)

Susan came from a traditional Maori rural background and she and Reynolds married in 1967.  They were a loyal couple determined to make their marriage work and had two children.

Frances Gorrie

She is the mother of Kent Gorrie and believes she would have known if her son had killed Reynolds. Her daughter Tania, was also a drug addict at the time Reynolds was killed, and also a supplier of scrap metal.



listen to the podcast

HOW TO LISTEN

If you're using an iPhone, iPad or a Mac computer, sign up via iTunes here.

If you’re using an Android, sign up via Stitcher here.

You can also copy then paste the following URL into your podcast provider for the RSS feed: https://rss.whooshkaa.com/rss/podcast/id/2984

You can also listen on any desktop computer here.

What is a podcast? Read more here.


Email heavymetal@stuff.co.nz to get in touch with the Heavy Metal team.

Email heavymetal@stuff.co.nz to get in touch with the Heavy Metal team.